In the 1990s, the departement store expanded dramatically abroad, especially into into the People's Republic of China. At its peak, it had 450 outlets in 16 countries, including 9 in Hong Kong where Yahoan moved its headquarters. Most of its shops in Japan were in Shizuoka prefecture, South of Tokyo
The company that was listed at Tokyo Stock Exchange went bust with 161 billion yen of debts. It was the biggest postwar failure in Japan's retail sector at the time. The super-market chain asked for protection from creditors under Japan's Corporate Rehabilitation Law on September 18, 1997. Many outlets were closed.
In March 2000 Yaohan was bought by ĈON Group and changed its name to Maxvalu Tokai.
See also: Economy of Japan, Japan.